Note: In part 1, audio levels lower at 00:09:20. Left channel remains low through all parts. Background noise and hiss as on original tape. Begins and ends abruptly.
Description: TAPE 1: Side A description: Silence [00:00]; First records, Recording with Sonny Terry for Alan Lomax at the Library of Congress [00:05];Paul Robeson asks him to perform at concert [02:22]; Paul Robeson introduces him on stage at Riverside Theater [04:24]; Millard Lampell invites him to come to New York City [08:59]; First recordings in North Carolina and Chicago, death of Blind Boy Fuller [10:14]; Receives Blind Boy Fuller's guitar, J.B. Long treated him differently because of his diploma, encourages him to form duet with Sonny Terry [12:32]; J.B. Long encourages him to go with Sonny Terry to record at the Library of Congress [19:04]; Meeting with Alan Lomax [20:07]; First meeting with Lead Belly [24:05]; Encouraged to move to New York City, telegram from J.B. Long [25:25]; Takes bus from Kingsport, Tennessee to New York City, arrival in New York City [30:50]
Side B description: Silence [00:00]; Taxi cheats him after his arrival in New York City [00:04]; Becomes member of the Almanac Singers [00:41]; Lead Belly invites him to live with him [02:16]; His desire to attend religious schools, college [03:37]; Gambling and bootlegging, Brownie's alley [06:29]; Run-ins with law enforcement [10:14]; Leaves town, hitchhikes to North Carolina [12:35]; Runs with group of thieves in Mt Ely [14:18]; Paid for performing, Blind Boy Fuller [14:50]; Performing at 11th St. Bottom in Winston-Salem, North Carolina [18:02]; Performing with harmonica player Jordan Webb [19:14]; J.B. Long asks him to meet him at his store [22:46]; Music he listened to as a child [27:04]; Buys a jukebox, problems finding electricity to run it [29:29]
TAPE 2: Side A description: Silence [00:00]; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof production [00:06]; Marilyn Monroe on set during production [02:50]; Barbara Bel Geddes and Burl Ives [04:32]; Performing after shows, John Steinbeck [06:00]; Tennessee Williams' mother [06:33]; Marilyn Monroe [07:20]; Opening of play in Philadelphia [08:00]; Parties during production, Burl Ives, Huntington Hartford [09:47]; Marilyn Monroe on a pedestal [15:02]; Siblings born in house that straddles county line [17:35]; Born in Old Arc Church in Knoxville, Tennessee [19:30]; Father's travels to find road construction work [20:10]; Sisters born in Loudon and Monroe counties [21:05]; Brother born in Kingsport, Tennessee [22:10]; Father worked in dye plant during World War I [23:05]; Father's work in brickyard [25:11]; Rev. and Mrs. Whitely [?][26:45]; Stricken with polio, move to Walnut Alley [27:40]; Mother and father separate, father goes to prison [29:08]
Side B description: Silence [00:00], Father gets out of prison, works in Kingsport, TN [00:11], Buying well water [00:51], Rats in the streets, open sewers [02:07], Father's work on construction projects [02:45], Oklahoma Grove [03:15], Schooling in Oklahoma Grove [04:00], Killing rats [06:43], Gym theater, first music contest [08:45], Father returns after prison, murder in house [10:40], Father moves, death of grandmother [12:40], Mother's family [14:15], Father leaves Kingsport, TN, Aunt Frankie's funeral [21:50], Moves in with his Aunt Maddie [24:43], Douglas High School [30:05]
Related Content:
Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #001]Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #002]Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #003]Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #004]Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #006 & 007]Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tapes #008]Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tapes #010 & 011]Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #012]Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #017]Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #019 & 021]Interview with Brownie McGhee [Tape #022, 023, & 024]Collection Guide:
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